Suicide Squad

[Dai]

I'm surprised this movie didn't have its own thread before; I guess it was just absorbed into the general DCU one.

Anyway, I saw it, and I have mixed feelings about it. For reference, Man of Steel is one of my favourite superhero movies, and I enjoyed Batman v Superman a lot, despite its flaws (many of which are fixed in the Ultimate Edition, by the way). Suicide Squad, though, just didn't engage me in the way I hoped. The pieces of a solid movie are there, but I feel like it got lost in the editing suite. The main problem is that it can't decide what it's trying to be. Awesome badasses on a misson could have worked, funny weirdos on a mission could have worked, tragic anitheroes on a mission could have worked, but by trying to nail all three at once it ends up with a jarring clash of tones. In particular, key moments of the movie depend on the viewer being emotionally invested in the plight of these characters, but it has so many backstories to plough through that it doesn't give any of them enough breathing room to resonate. The actors mostly do a good job, but they aren't given enough to work with. Diablo's arc in particular is too perfunctory for the emotional note it's trying to hit. And one key moment involving Deadshot's daughter is cringe-worthy in its execution.

What really hurts is there are times when the movie feels so close to working, but there's just something missing, and so there were times when I was just watching the movie happen instead of being drawn into it. Maybe it's because my expectations were all wrong. I thought this was going to be a heist-style movie where the villains were recruited for their unique abilities to fulfill a specific mission. Instead they're brought together and then... stuff just happens at the same time, which they're dispatched to deal with. I kept expecting that to be a quickly resolved sub-plot before the real mission was revealed, but no, that was the whole movie. It's probably the Joker's presence that threw me off. I expected him to be the one that the squad were dispatched to stop, but he's not. Instead, his role is basically just as Harley's boyfriend, which works for what it is, but feels like it wasted the opportunity to set those two against each other.

So, what works? Will Smith is his usual charismatic self, and comes closest to lending the movie some credibility. Margot Robbie is great fun as Harley, and is the one character who fits most easily into the movie's multiple personalities. Enchantress is interesting to watch in action, even if she's not built as a terribly interesting character. And Waller is downright chilling; you're never in any doubt as to who is the biggest monster in this movie.

Honestly, I don't know if I'd enjoy it more on a second viewing now that I know what to expect. It almost feels like a superhero movie from 20 years ago, circa The Mysterymen. There are some good moments in there, but a lack of focus prevents them from coming together into a great movie.

[Henry88]

$129,725,000
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=dc2016.htm

[mr.negativity]

[Kong2004us]

I actually like suicide squad.. I thought it was a much better movie than Batman vs Superman and I own the ultimate edition which basically makes Lex Luthor look like he's smarter than superman and batman.. That lost me completely .. Superman has always managed to stay a step ahead of Lex, yet here he nor Batman can figure out Lex is behind the whole thing.. The other thing.. Superman is fast.. Couldn't he theoretically find his mother before lex executes her.. I just didn't like that movie at all.. Man of steel was ok though.. And I would take Bale or Keaton anyday over Affleck, although he was decent.

That being said, suicide squad was good.. It actually made me like Will Smith again, and that's something I thought I would never say . Margot Robbie did a great job as Harley Quinn.. The only thing I don't know is how I feel about Leto's joker.. Was he going for a Nicholson joker or Ledger joker ? All in all a really solid movie though..

[Henry88]

$267,105,000
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=dc2016.htm

[tbeasley]

It's nowhere as bad as critics are making it out to be. If you think this is as bad or worse than Man of Steel or Batman v Superman you're miserable.
What's amazing about the movie is that the villains and antiheroes featured are more human, nuanced and ultimately heroic than Superman or Batman have been so far. Are we sure these movies haven't been set on Bizarro World?

Suicide Squad isn't perfect though. It's a little too kooky for its own good in some places, and lacks focus. Guardians of the Galaxy works because you have Peter Quill driving the main story. Deadshot should have had that role here, but the final film feels like the characters are fighting for their fare share of screen time too often. I understand it's an ensemble, but at times it feels like Deadshot's movie, Joker and Harley Quinn's movie, Amanda Waller and Rick Flagg's movie (there's also Flagg's romance with Enchantress...). At the very end you hear El Diablo's sob story as well... there's almost too much thrown at the audience to care any.

All that aside, I wouldn't be surprised if this is a more satisfying ensemble film than Justice League will turn out to being.

[jellydonut25]

[Benjamin Haines]

I thought it was better than Dawn of Justice but not as good as Man of Steel. It's a really choppy movie. There's a lot that works well (the cast is stellar) but quite a few beats/moments that just fall flat. It's a far cry from the likes of Deadpool or Guardians of the Galaxy and it feels like they were trying really hard to replicate the success of the latter, from the 'misfit band of outlaws save the day' premise to the first-weekend-of-August release date and the soundtrack full of yesteryear's pop songs. It's a fun movie, though. I'd put it in the same boat as Iron Man 2 and Thor: The Dark World.

[O.Supreme]

ok...I have not seen the film. I hear a lot of people complaining that The Joker was hardly in the film. But what about Batman? There were several news reports of Ben Affleck appearing as Batman in this film, even if it is only a cameo, but I have heard nothing about this in reviews. Was his scene cut from the film?

[DannyBeane]

Batman was in it briefly. There was also a credit sequence with him.

[Benjamin Haines]

[tbeasley]

[The Shadow]

[mr.negativity]

[mr.negativity]

Why 'Suicide Squad' Is the Spiritual Sequel to 'Batman & Robin'

[lhb412]

My sister saw it, and wanted to tell me her thoughts after I had told her something of the critical drubbing it received. She had an interesting take: she enjoyed it a lot, certainly more than the previous DC movies, because she said it was thoroughly a trashy B-movie without any pretensions and therefore it's various problems don't seem a big deal. She mentioned it being closer to a Resident Evil or Underworld film than a superhero film.

[jellydonut25]

Saw it. Pretty much hated it.

It's got good characters (Harley, Deadshot, Diablo, Boomerang) that I'd like to see in a better film, but the movie itself is a horrible mess. It's poorly edited, the plot is unbelievably boring, the soundtrack is AWFUL, the dialogue is HYSTERICAL (people just blurt out what they're feeling and thinking and their motivations all the time), and there are some bad goofs (ie, Harley's hair dye changes quite often from shot-to-shot sometimes). It's I guess somewhat more enjoyable than BvS, because the characters are at least enjoyable, but it's a BAD movie. The villain's plan is stupid nebulous nonsense and doesn't really have ANY heft to it, and the villain herself...well, she gyrates around all the time because, I don't know. Seriously though, even when she's talking, she gyrates. It's another bit of unintentional hilarity.

And Leto's Joker is awful. He's like a mixture of Ace Ventura and Ledger...and ummmm...like a Predator. For all the trouble everyone was put through for Leto to turn in THIS performance, I sincerely hope he's dropped and the role is recast. His character tics are neither funny nor menacing. He's mostly just a really REALLY boring incarnation of the character.

Oh, also, this happens:

During a non-jokey non-tongue-in-cheek scene, while Amanda Waller is introducing herself to the team, Killer Croc looks at the camera and winks. Because of course he does.
He also really likes BET and watches hip hop videos. Because obviously.

1.5/5.

[mr.negativity]

[mr.negativity]

[Gentleman]

[lhb412]

^ In Annihilation's case, the movie is only based on the first book. I don't even think the second and third books we're out when the movie was in the scripting stage. The first novel gives little information as to the appearance or even the names of the protagonists, with that information only given later on in subsequent installments. Therefore, in making the movie they had to work from essentially nothing in that regard. Add that to the fact that the movie is only very loosely based on the book at all!

[jellydonut25]

Change everyone's race.

Just for grins.

[XvGojira]

[mr.negativity]

[Gentleman]